Soraya's POV
If imagination were a superpower, I'd say Maya had the full dose of it—and then a little left over for me.
"And I swear, the silver didn't even hurt him. Which means…" Maya twirled around dramatically, holding her phone up like it held the answers to the universe, "...he was probably a pureblooded Alpha! That, or some new kind of werewolf hybrid never documented before!"
I blinked once, slowly. "You do realize you sound like the opening line of a paranormal romance novel, right?"
She plopped down on the couch beside me, eyes gleaming. "Don't pretend you're not curious, Soraya. I mean—what if they're really out there? Hiding among us? Living normal lives but secretly, like, rulers of the night or whatever."
I sipped my tea and forced a smile. "Sure. Totally possible."
Inside me, my wolf huffed a laugh.
Oh, if only she knew.
Maya had no clue her roommate and best friend was exactly the thing she fantasized about everyday. A real, breathing werewolf—marked by the Moon, haunted by her past, and trying desperately to live like none of it mattered.
I never asked to be born into this. I never asked to be hunted or hated, or exiled before I even had a voice.
The stories my mother, Remi, told me still echoed like distant drums—of the night I was born under the blood moon and marked by the Moon Spirit. The elders and the Alpha King of Blackwood called me cursed, a danger to the pack. My father fought for me, fought until his blood stained the ground, but they executed him for a crime he never committed. My mother had no choice but to run, carrying me into the human world, branded as a traitor and stripped of her title, all because of me.
She always told me I wasn't cursed but chosen—that the Moon had given me a gift no wolf had ever carried. But a gift or not, it cost her everything: her mate, her pack, her life.
She didn't live long enough to see me grow. One winter night, we were attacked. Wolves—feral and merciless—tore through our hiding place. I survived only because she hid me under the floorboards, whispering that she loved me before they dragged her outside.
When I found her, it was too late. And though no one ever confessed it, I've always believed they came from Blackwood, sent to finish what the Alpha King started.
I was too young to understand it all back then, but the memory never left me. Sometimes, when the night is too quiet, I still feel it—the cold, the fear, the weight of her last words. And deep inside, I can feel the wolf, not fully awakened but always there—watching.
"Soraya? Earth to space-witch? You've been zoning out again."
I blinked back to the present. Maya was now hunched over her laptop, a blurry image of werewolf fangs frozen on the screen. She looked way too proud of this discovery.
"You're not going to work?" I asked, already walking toward the tiny kitchen area.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she replied dreamily. "Another chance to see our devastatingly gorgeous, possibly emotionally unavailable billionaire CEO? Count me in."
I snorted. "You do realize he probably doesn't even know you exist, right?"
Maya flipped her hair with mock sass. "A girl can dream."
A girl can obsess, I thought. About a man she'll never touch… who, ironically, isn't even human.
That part made my wolf giggle again.
The truth was that I could sense it. I could sense them. All of them.
Werewolves hiding in suits and behind keyboards. Their scent, their aura, the way their energy buzzed faintly through my skin like a static field. I had crossed paths with more of them in the city than Maya would ever guess in her Reddit threads.
But none of them could sense me.
That was one of my gifts I have mastered even before my mother died. My only true advantage.
I could hide my scent.
Mask the thrum of the beast inside me.
Fade into the human world as just… Soraya.
Except for the healing. That I couldn't explain away. Small wounds closed like time skipped ahead. Bruises vanished before they even hurt. I never had any reason to visit the clinic.
The only reason I hadn't gone hunting for the Blackwood Pack yet—hadn't fulfilled the promise I whispered to the stars even though it was against my mother's wish—was because I couldn't find them. Their territory was sealed off, protected by some ancient veil between their world and ours.
And besides… what good would vengeance be without power?
My wolf hadn't fully awakened.
But she would. One day. And by then, I will be ready as I must have mastered all my powers.
"Soraya," Maya called from the bathroom, already half-dressed, "can you make breakfast while I attempt to look halfway presentable for the king of corporate smolder?"
"Sure," I said, laughing under my breath.
I popped the bread into the toaster and moved with practiced ease, flipping eggs, slicing fruit, humming softly. Breakfast was part of our daily routine that we don't miss no matter how late we're running for work.
By the time Maya emerged—hair tucked perfectly behind one ear and confidence sky-high—I handed her a plate and motioned to the door.
We ate quickly, perched on the edge of the couch, barely tasting the food.
"We'll miss the bus." I said as I stood.
"Oh no we won't," she winked. "I can teleport when hot men are involved."
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag. We were off, rushing toward another ordinary day in a city full of secrets—me, the werewolf in hiding. Her, the girl obsessed with werewolves.
And neither of us ready for the truth hurtling toward us faster than either of us could imagine.
By the time we reached the tall glass building that shined like a mirror against the sun, Maya was already giving me that pleading look—the one she always used when she wanted a favor she knew she didn't deserve.
"Please, Soraya," she whispered, tugging on my sleeve as we approached the revolving doors. "Just cover for me for five minutes. Ten max. I have to see him today. I missed him yesterday, and the day before that, and... "
"And the sky will fall if you don't see the CEO today," I finished for her with a dry smile.
She grinned sheepishly. "Exactly."
I sighed, not knowing what to do with her. "Fine. But one day he's going to grow tired of your stalker tendencies and get a restraining order."
Maya laughed and hugged me tight. "You're the best!"
"I know," I muttered, shaking my head as I watched her dart around the side of the building toward the main entrance where the CEO's sleek black car usually pulled in.
Maya's obsession with werewolves had somehow extended to our CEO—Ethan Vander. She talked about him like he was some brooding alpha straight out of a supernatural romance… never realizing just how right she was.
Sometimes I'd glance at her reading yet another blog article titled "10 Signs He's a Werewolf" and my wolf would snort inside me, amused and exasperated.
She had no idea.
And if she did? Well… things would never be the same between us.
But she was all I had.
I tucked my hands into my pockets as I made my way inside, smiling faintly as memories danced behind my eyes. I'd met Maya the night my mother died. I was barely fifteen, lost and cold and confused on the streets of Arlenton. She was the light that pulled me from the darkness. She took me to her family—ordinary humans, kind-hearted. They treated me like one of their own.
Since then, Maya and I had become sisters in every way but blood.
We went to school together, worked together, even got scolded by the same supervisor—Mr. James—on the same days. Our bond was real, and for that, I would always protect her. Even from the truth.
Especially from the truth.
I pushed the door open to the employee entrance and walked through the side corridor that led to the sales department floor. I wasn't paying full attention when it happened...
I collided with someone. A huge someone.
"Oof!" I gasped, staggering back a step but strong hands caught my arms, steadying me. I looked up… and my breath caught.
Dark storm-gray eyes met mine. Chiseled jaw. Tailored suit. The faintest trace of power clinging to his skin like static. I recognized him immediately.
The CEO. Ethan Vander. The same man Maya spent her time daydreaming about.
Holy goddess.